Determinants of Clay and Shale Microfabric Signatures: Processes and Mechanisms
Abstract
The energy sources that result in sediment particle associations, reorientation, and disaggregation are presented in terms of processes and mechanisms. Based on electron microscopy observations and theoretical considerations, the observed and modeled microfabric forms and signatures are associated with processes and mechanisms operating in various micro- and macroenvironments. The interplay of geological, chemical, and biological processes and mechanisms during transport, deposition, and burial of particulate material largely controls and ultimately determines the physical nature, properties, and observable micro- and macrocharacteristics of soft sediments and their indurated equivalents. Discrete events such as suspended sediment transport, flocculation, and slumping may be indentified and/or observed in the field or laboratory. More often, the sedimentary material is studied to understand and infer processes and mechanisms responsible for its fundamental properties, origin, significance, and stratigraphic position in the geological record. The particle-to-particle development and ultimate nature of a sedimentary deposit and its variability in time and space depend on multiple process that include some important mechanisms that occur extremely fast and others that progress over eons. As defined in this study, mechanisms are the specific energy sources that drive microfabric development. Two or more related mechanisms constitute that broader classification termed process. In the continuum of microfabric development, the fundamental processes in which the individual mechanisms operate are described as (1) physiochemical, (2) bioorganic, and (3) burial diagenesis.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA231579
Entities
People
- Matthew H. Hulbert
- Neal R. O'brien
- Richard H. Bennett
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory